Drugs & Vice

Pennsylvania Drug Warriors Turned A New York Man’s Life into a Living Hell

"Ramos remained in jail for 158 days until he was found not guilty in Lehigh County Court after blood tests showed no illegal substances or alcohol in his system. While Ramos was jailed, he was fired from his job and lost his home. He lost his car, too: The tow truck operator notified Ramos by mail about a deadline to retrieve his vehicle, but because Ramos was in jail, no one was at his residence to receive the letter. Ramos' lawsuit charged that Troopers Summa and Vanfleet conspired to falsely arrest him despite finding no evidence that he was impaired or had drugs in his car."

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New ‘Vice’ ETF Mixes Alcohol, Tobacco, Cannabis Stocks

"AdvisorShares is rolling out the first U.S.-listed ETF to offer exposure to securities involved in the legal marijuana industry, including hemp- and cannabinoid-related companies. The actively managed AdvisorShares Vice ETF (ACT) also invests in stocks involve in the tobacco and alcohol industries."

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Cheers! California Winery Unveils Marijuana-Infused Wine

"The company doesn't plan to stop at just marijuana-infused Sauvignon Blanc. The owners are working on creating a pot-infused Rosé and champagne. Any wine and marijuana lovers older than 21 can pre-order a bottle of this Sauvignon Blanc for $59.99. Orders are expected to be sent out in early 2018. The company said the wine will be distributed through 500 marijuana dispensaries across the country."

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Congress Needs to Put a Stop to Asset Forfeiture

"Revenues generated through forfeiture may be spent with virtually no oversight. Funds distributed to local or state agencies via the equitable sharing program are similarly beyond the reach of state or local lawmakers. Perhaps this lack of accountability explains how funds supposedly reserved for 'law enforcement purposes' wind up getting spent on margarita machines, training trips to Hawaii, and chrome accents for Harley Davidson motorcycles."

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In Duterte’s anti-drug pogrom, police and cameras tell different stories

"Chilling surveillance footage of a drug-war operation in Manila raises fresh doubts about police actions in President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal anti-narcotics campaign. Reuters obtained the footage, which shows the deadly operation from start to finish."

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With Gun and Medical Marijuana Registries, Hawaii Starts Disarming Patients

"Hawaii is one of 29 states that allow medical use of marijuana, but it is the only state that requires registration of all firearms. If you are familiar with the criteria that bar people from owning guns under federal law, you can probably surmise what the conjunction of these two facts means for patients who use cannabis as a medicine, which Hawaii allows them to do only if they register with the state. Some of them recently received a letter from Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard, instructing them to turn in their guns."

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U.S. Coast Guard operating secret floating prisons in Pacific Ocean

"Coast Guard officials say they can do this because the drug smugglers aren't under arrest until they reach U.S. shores, but some of the worst cases are drawing criticism even from Coast Guard officials. Many families, in fact, believe that their loved ones — husbands, fathers, sons — had disappeared."

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Alfred McCoy: The Future of the American Empire

"Alfred McCoy was a young rebel academic who waded into the war zone in Southeast Asia to investigate the relationship between the CIA, crime syndicates, and local drug lords. The result, which the Agency tried unsuccessfully to suppress, was his classic The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade. In the 45 years since, McCoy has consistently probed the underside of American global power, analyzing how the United States uses covert interventions, local proxies, torture, and worldwide surveillance to maintain its global empire."

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